Five years ago we began profiling an intrepid group of urban farmers, all of whom have the day job of taxi driver. They’ve “borrowed” pieces of unused open land in various corners of New York City and turned it into bread and butter – or rather into corn, beans, tomatoes, grapes, herbs and whatever else they can…
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Sometimes we like to climb up on whatever’s around to shift our view and perspective. Do-able just about anywhere. Image curated by Holton Rower
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In July, we posted a compelling backpack we’d bought only to discover that its design was profoundly flawed. So we hacked the backpack to see if we could devise a fix, a lesson in trying ideas out, and flexing our own (untrained) design muscles to make things better or at the very least learn a few things.
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During many years as a professional cook, I burned and cut myself numerous times. Over time, I came to view these small injuries as a sort of early warning system with a clear message: Slow Down, Take Care and Be Mindful that you are a bit “off”. LISTEN to yourself to hear what’s really going on.…
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One of the things we love about wine and spirits authority Anthony Giglio is his complete lack of pretention on matters of food and wine. So, of course, when asked to recommend wines to drink with pork rinds, pizza, Doritos and Dunkin Donuts (!!) and other humble junky foods we secretly love, he rose the occasion. You’ll…
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“Sensual wave“, an art installation by French architects Marion Moustey and Alexandre Arcens, gave us ideas for late summer-fall gardens lit with Soji Solar Lantern. Susan Dworski first posted about the wondrous, inexpensive solar shoji lights she festooned her garden with. “Sensual Wave” takes her idea a step further.
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In this week’s New Yorker, Ferris Jabr describes research that shows why walking goes beyond being a great physical exercise, but a catalyst for creative thinking as well. We go for a walk daily in the park we look out on. Every time, we discover something new AND find our mind shifting, ideas sparking, problems beginning to yield. Nature reminds us of possibilities…
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(Video link here.) Ikea’s creative team is rivaling Apple’s…AND using Apple’s classic myth-making approach to its latest technology to describe the…power…of…a…BOOK. This brilliant ad for IKea’s 2015 catalogue lays out just why REAL books are so wonderful. With thanks to Susan Dworski for making sure we watched a video we’d ignored!
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Artist Donald Judd’s austere, organic, ultra-simple furniture has been inspiration for lots of knockoff’s and diy’s and straight-out ripoffs. His iconic sofa, below, inspired the $6,000 Maple sofa, above, a collaboration of Brooklyn-based industrial designer Farrah Sit and textile designer Rebecca Atwood. Sit and Atwood have made improvments on Judd’s design, from a practical comfort point-of-view. The sofa is definitely DIY-able.
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Leaving Manhattan on the commuter train the other evening, we were surpised to see a billboard towering above the South Bronx amidst the bleak industrial landscape. It says simply “GRATTITUDE.” This teeny video —best viewed with chirpy music OFF — captures the expected and somehow remarkable experience. (Video link HERE.):
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Recently we received a trove of small plum tomatoes which are in abundance right now. Since we don’t have the energy or space to can the tomatoes, we experimented with drying them in our ancient restaurant stove whose pilot lit oven is a constant 150′. We often dry our kale chips this way, and in the past have done sliced apples and pears. Why not tomatoes? Our experiments were a success. Here’s what we did.
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(Video link HERE.) Though we”ve had our “official” vacation, we’re still feeling the need for escape. Ben Ridgeway’s Cosmic Flower Unfolding is a constant flow of emerging and dissolving oceanic, futuristic, and mandala forms: two minutes that takes us AWAY.
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(Video link HERE.) In addition to plastic snap together grownup legos we could make real things out of, we’ve long dreamed of big concrete Lego-like bricks we could build serious structures out of. So we were thrilled to find this video of Kite Bricks, a patent-pending, production-imminent component brick that is very much like big…
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via 31media.tumblr Thanks Holton!
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A 48-hour disappearance into the depths of my studio was finally interrupted late yesterday by a well-meaning friend. He peered in to find me on hands and knees wiping out the lowest shelves with damp paper towels. “Jeez. Still at it?” I swiveled and growled like a rabid dog, sweat pouring down, hair plastered, eyes raccooned…
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Wishing we could climb the ancient trees across the way, we wonder, WHY NOT put a ladder up to one to give our creaky selves a boost up. Then we saw The Tree with Ladders, an installation by François Méchain.
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We found ourselves curiously relieved when we came across this very modern space whose design was “broken” by classical antiques, a far cry from many of today’s sterile mid-century-esque interiors. But we weren’t crazy about the fussy chandeliers that festoons the place, so we photoshopped one out TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.
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Photographer Ellen Silverman has a particularly fine eye for inspriational adhoc street signs. We love this wall she sent recently, whose messages resonate deeply with where we are right NOW. They are at once like stripped-down haiku, meditations and essential reminders…
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This little pink ATM in NYC is restocked with yummy cupcakes every night offering 24/7 access to cupcakes. We love the application of the essential idea of an “ATM” to something completely unexpected: cupcakes instead of cash. Why not?
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Marella Consolini sent us her inspired transformation of a gorgeous linen shirt bought on eBay for pennies, that turned out to be SO big, it languished in a drawer, waiting for something to be done with it. “Finally it dawned on me: the back was big enough to turn into an oversized linen tea towel”. Here’s how she did it.
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